Don’t Let Your Kid Become One of the 60% of College Students Who Believe These Money Myths

College students have a lot to learn about managing money — and they know it.

Many students say they aren’t well-educated about personal finance, according to a recent study by U.S. Bank. It surveyed 1,640 full- and part-time students ages 18 to 30, weighted to match the demographics of undergrad enrollment in the U.S.

The study yielded some important — though, maybe not surprising — results. Students don’t believe they have strong money-management skills, and their replies to basic financial questions show they’re probably right.

What Students Don’t Know About Budgeting

While most students (66%) report having a job, 44% say they have little to no knowledge about creating and maintaining a budget.

And 21% say they “are barely keeping up” with their personal finances.

What Students Don’t Know About Retirement

When asked to rank factors that will contribute to a happy life, students prioritized steady employment, paying off loans and debt and being financially independent.

Owning a home, having a high income and planning for a comfortable retirement were low on the list.

That means students aren’t worried about building credit, growing their savings, learning how to manage a 401(k) or contributing to Social Security.

Why Students Are Clueless About Personal Finance

While the numbers may seem shocking, these facts really aren’t a big surprise. Think of your own financial education.

I know my high school offered one elective course in Personal Finance. It wasn’t too attractive among the electives that could teach me to play an instrument, speak a foreign language or bake cookies all afternoon.

Instead, students said they relied heavily on their parents to learn how to manage money. That’s a lot of pressure on parents, who, most likely, also learned by example — or trial and error.

Plus, our parents probably didn’t come of age in a culture where student loan debt was about as common as a driver’s license and plastic had all but eliminated cash.

Teaching Kids About Money

So how do we better educate ourselves and avoid raising the next generation as clueless about money as we have been?

First, admit it’s tough. Investing is complicated, retirement seems light years away and credit card companies bank on the fact that none of us understands what half of their policies mean.

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